#current california fires

[liskantope]

I'm slightly surprised I so far haven't seen dozens of memes and posts about how our collective attention on the devastating fires in the LA area is as strong as it is because it's more privileged people who are suffering, while we collectively pretty much ignore the ways that less privileged people lose their homes and livelihoods every single day.

They would have a point, but I think this kind of talking point tends to degenerate into "we all just don't think underprivileged people matter or are fully human", when the truth is something much more like "we all expect bad things to happen to underprivileged people by default but when we see something like what's happening around LA, it hits us hard because it suggests that something that devastating could happen to any of us and we wouldn't necessarily be able to prevent it, and 'any of us' tends to skew more privileged because that's the way heavy social media use skews".

[politijohn]

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Historic wildfires blaze through LA months after the Democratically-run city cut fire service funds.

News headlines rhetorically ask us to consider what happens when CA inmates - working as firefighters for roughly $6 per day - cannot contain unprecedented fires.

Billionaires drain the already water-starved state of its supply as hydrants dry up when needed most.

This system has to go.

[mostly-funnytwittertweets]

[eldritch-sanctum]

The Los Angeles mega fires are bringing out all the armchair fire experts that were hiding in plain sight all along to share their expertise in YouTube comments. Where were they all along? They are sharing their brilliant insights like "It was Govenor Newscum's fault for not raking the forest", "It was arson!". "The fire hydrants ran out of water because California is too concerned about stupid little fish", and of course "As soon as this so-called fire expert mentioned climate change, I knew he was an idiot!" (Please note the above is sarcasm) Anyway, sarcasm aside, as someone who has lived in SoCal for some time, I can tell you this really is fucking unusual and a freak occurrence nobody was prepared for. Usually fires of such a large scale are in heavily wooded, rural parts where people set up big vacation houses and ranches, but these ones blazed through developed, suburban areas. Imagine a really fucking fast fire spread by a massive hair dryer set to 100 mph and the tinder isn't the "brush", but houses and cars. Also, I have never heard of the Santa Ana winds getting THAT fast before, ever. California does have a water storage issue, but it has nothing to do with environmental policies, but rather the depletion of groundwater via agriculture and such agriculture not allowing the water table to be replenished.

[luzzarm]

Home of Jerry Lewis located in 1048 Almafi Drive, Pacific Palisades, CA

50s

[troythecatfish]

[honeyveebeevee]

Israel can go to hell, and it's "sympathies." I am deeply saddened by what's happening in my state. I am an hour away from Eaton fire. YET, I don't need the condolences of a country that's constantly doing war crimes against Palestinians. While you guys donate to the families who have lost their homes, please remember to have the same empathy and sympathies you feel for California with Palestine. Don't forget to donate to Palestinians as well. They are also actively losing their lives and homes too. Have sympathy for all events that affect human life and the environment. That being said, anyone who has lost their homes, please feel to reach out to me so I can also promote any fundraisers. I finally have power after 60 hours, but it's nothing compared to the people who have lost their homes and lives. Remember to support your communities.

[kiyomizuki]

I don't know if this video has made it to tumblr yet, but let me share the link because this is important. Disabled people need help and should be a part of every evacuation plan. Accessibility means everyone has what they need, and it's not one size fits all.

Molly is right. You can acquire some kind of disability at any time in your life, it's one of the few minorities that you can just wake up into if life happens. This isn't an "other" and shouldn't be.

Please note that I might not be wording this well because I'm not sure how to phrase my feelings, watch Molly's video, it words it better than I could.

[najwa-01]

Gaza has been dying from cold and hunger for over a year, while Los Angeles burns: Why is the attention not equal?"

While the entire world watches the fires of Los Angeles with sympathy and solidarity, the Gaza Strip has been living in daily hell for more than a year and a half. Our children are dying not only from the flames of war but also from hunger and deadly cold.

Just last week, we lost eight children to the cold—innocent children who found no blanket to keep them warm or food to fill their empty stomachs.

Donate to save Salma and my family and help them face this cold and hunger. Every contribution, no matter how small, makes a huge difference in our lives.

Please donate for the sake of my daughter.

✅️Vetted by @gazavetters , my number verified on the list is ( #439 )✅️

[jackelopeofthelake]

The US rn

[a-false-prophet]

praying doesn’t fix anything.

your sympathies don’t help anyone.

thoughts without actions are useless.

raise your voice and protest for change, reach out a hand and lift someone up, pick up a tool and help rebuild. turn your passive thoughts, prayers, and sympathies into something productive, tangible, and helpful.

[liskantope]

I haven't directly seen any posts saying it's only privileged people suffering from the LA fires (which I'm thankful for). But I did see one post - I think an Instagram story from an environmentalist I follow there - saying "stop saying you don't care about the LA fires because it's only affecting privileged people. There are plenty of poor, working class people who live there and are really suffering." Which I guess implies that *someone* out there is saying the first type of take

I haven't been following discourse about the fires much, but most of the takes I have seen have been very sympathetic (thankfully) and mentioning that climate change and limited water resources are factors (which I think is true)

Yeah, there are definitely working-class folks who are among those devastated by the fires. I haven't seen the particular type of post you're referring to, but I did listen to a 12-minute video by Meghan Daum (a podcaster I'm familiar with) who just lost her home, and she talks for a bit about how a lot of less privileged people are being hit by this (while acknowledging that the way we talk about wealth and refer to class has to be skewed in the context of California).

I'm glad also that most people are reacting with a reasonable amount of sympathy (which should be a hell of a lot!) and bringing up the factors in what I'm hopeful is a fair and accurate and not overly politically opportunistic way. Even if someone believes that the attention is disproportionate relative to disasters that affect the less privileged, it looks like they get the concept of "this bad thing which may not be as un- socially just as that other bad thing is still bad" this time around.

By the way, I think takes of the "there's disproportionate focus on these LA fires because they only affect privileged people" could be improved by modifying to "there's disproportionate focus on these LA fires because the whole country/world pays attention to big, glamorous, culturally influential cities like LA". Not saying that's necessarily a good or correct take, but an improvement.

[politijohn]

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[person-who-likes-stuff]

The lack of empathy I’ve seen on this website for the California wildfires is horrific.

Not only billionaires live in California.

Not only billionaires live near the wildfires.

The victims of the wildfires so far have NOT been billionaires.

They have been parents, and siblings, and spouses.

Edit: and even if a billionaire DID die, it would not be worth the carnage this disaster has reeked on everybody else.

[fivay774]

la fires

Wildfires are tearing through parts of Los Angeles, causing at least 11 deaths, destroying hundreds of buildings, and prompting evacuation orders for tens of thousands across the county.

Despite the efforts of thousands of firefighters, the largest blazes remain largely uncontained.

Weather conditions and the ongoing effects of climate change are expected to continue fueling the fires for several more days, and there is intense scrutiny of officials' preparedness for the disaster.

Authorities say they expect the death toll to rise. More than 144,000 people are under evacuation orders in Los Angeles County, according to local authorities, as of Saturday.

A curfew is in effect from 18:00 local time (02:00 GMT) to 06:00 on Saturday within the areas impacted by the Pacific Palisades and Eaton fires after reports of looting.

Over 10,000 buildings have been destroyed by the fires, which are the most devastating in LA's history.

An additional 60,000 are also at risk. Insured losses are expected to exceed $8bn (£6.5bn) due to the high value of the properties affected.

A man was arrested on Thursday afternoon after residents suspected he was attempting to ignite a new fire.

Police said he was charged with a probation violation but that there was not enough probable cause to charge him with arson, and an investigation continues.

The causes of the original fires remain unknown.

National Guard troops have been deployed to some areas of the city to prevent looting in evacuated zones, with more troops expected to be sent, and there have been 20 arrests, according to the police.

Celebrities who have lost their homes include Mel Gibson, Leighton Meester, Adam Brody, who attended the Golden Globes just days ago, and Paris Hilton